The family of a former Clemson sports writer is struggling to comprehend the details surrounding his death.

Dale Capps, 61, was found stabbed to death in his home at Court Ridge Condominiums after it caught fire Friday evening.

Firefighters, after searching the residence at 2601 Duncan Chapel Road near Furman University, found Capps' body inside. He suffered at least one stab wound to the chest, which was the cause of death, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.

The manner of death is pending and the case has not been ruled a homicide, the Coroner's Office said Tuesday. The cause of the fire also remains under investigation.

“We are still investigating other aspects and waiting for the results of testing that come with the autopsy,” Deputy Coroner Jeff Fowler said Tuesday.

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Family members are seeking answers in the death of Dale Capps, 61, who was found stabbed to death inside his burning condo last week.
Daniel J. Gross/The Greenville News

Capps was a regular contributor for more than 20 years at Orange & White, a publication that covers Clemson athletics. He covered men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, baseball and track with his brother, Kerry Capps.

Dale Capps also occasionally wrote for Soccer America, a quarterly soccer magazine, in the 1980s and assisted in coaching youth soccer teams at one time, Kerry Capps said.

Dale Capps’ first writing job came in the late 1970s when he worked as a weekend sports clerk for The Greenville News, Kerry Capps said.

Mark Crammer, a former designer and photographer for Orange & White, said Dale Capps deliberately put a focus into covering sports like soccer and track rather than just football.

“He really enjoyed covering all of the other things,” Crammer said. “Dale and I would be at a soccer match and we’d see each other in the press box and catch up. We communicated a lot and worked really well together.”

Crammer was tasked with proofreading the pages of Orange & White before it was printed and recalls very few mistakes in Dale Capps’ stories.

“We published 36 issues a year, and Dale was a big contributor to our success for many years,” Crammer said.

Crammer described Dale Capps as quiet, subdued and mild-mannered.

“You hate hearing about these tragedies and then when it’s someone you know, it’s like, wow,” Crammer said.

Outside of Dale Capps' condominium Tuesday, bouquets of flowers sat outside his sliding back door that had been boarded up after fire damage. A note with one bouquet said, “You will be missed. Rest well.”

Dale Capps was the primary caretaker for his parents in their years of declining health before their deaths, Kerry Capps said. He loved his family.

“He was a good brother and a great uncle to my three children," Kerry Capps said. "He contributed a great deal to their love of books and music and soccer and dogs. He was our designated boxer-sitter whenever we traveled, which was a lot.”

Maura Capps, Dale Capps' niece, said her uncle's imagination and creativity helped inspire her as she grew up. The 33-year-old history professor said she recalls times when Dale Capps would come up with Sherlock Holmes-inspired skits to act out.

He embraced being an uncle, she said. She described him as well-spoken, gentle and kind.

"He was so imaginative," she said. "His sort of creativity as a storyteller and writer came out in the way he interacted with us. As I got older, he was one of the biggest influences on my intellectual development."

Kerry Capps said the family is having difficulty coming to terms with his brother's death and the investigation.

“Needless to say, we’re all pretty distraught right now, kind of overwhelmed with making arrangements, assisting Greenville County’s investigators and dealing with our shock and grief at the manner of his death, about which we still know very little,” Kerry Capps said.

Duncan Chapel Fire Chief Russell Watson said they've turned over their evidence to the Sheriff's Office. He declined to say where the fire started or what caused it, citing an ongoing investigation.

"This one is kind of a different ballgame than your standard fire fatality," Watson said. "He didn't die from the fire. The autopsy proves that."

Maura Capps said not knowing what led to his stabbing death has made it that much more difficult.

"It’s just kind of incomprehensible to us. Who in the world would ever want to harm Dale?" Maura Capps said. "We really don’t have any answers yet, just tons of questions. It's hard to think about grieving him and celebrating his life when we have so many questions."

Dale Capps(Photo: Provided/Maura Capps)

Sgt. Ryan Flood, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman, confirmed deputies went to the fire call and are investigating the death, but declined to comment further.

The News has sent the Sheriff’s Office a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain reports and documents associated with the case.

A memorial service has been planned for 4 p.m. Sunday at Triune Mercy Center in Greenville.